There is also this. American fans have always regarded the EPL as the top of the top. A goal that our players, always were told that we could not attain. We were not good enough, not skillful, did not have the pace to survive. Well maybe our goalies, and a couple of other that never had a huge following, BUT when you embraced LD, you embraced the states.
It told us that we did not suk as a "football" nation. That a player we produced had pace, skill and was accepted. We were accepted.
A bit sappy, but true.
Very sappy, but very true. You Brits have "sort of" embraced America with Donovan really; he's our golden boy in soccer.
Where/when did I really start paying attention to Everton? Well i've loosely followed the EPL for years, but always told myself i'd never have my own EPL team since i have no ties there and don't need another team to have to support (huge sports fan here, have too many teams at the moment). I always did loosely watch the "Americans Abroad", so i'd catch the Fulham matches with Dempsey, Altidore at Hull (ouch), Friedel at Villa, and of course Howard at Everton.
Then, in 2009 at the "MLS Best" game, i got to see you guys up close. (was it summer-ish?) Remember you guys played that friendly against the MLS all-stars? I thought you guys played clean & fair, and well. I liked watching you play, and it started making me pay more attention to the EPL. Like others said, I hate the big 4, don't tend to bandwagon, and i'm blue collar at heart. Everton seems to fit, although admittedly i didn't even consider registering for a forum until i heard Donovan was coming. (watching a team is one thing, being interested enough to discuss on a forum is another proposition altogether!)
The single biggest way to attract Americans is to employ them on your squad. Since we don't live there, we don't have geographical allegiances. Having our players on your team is the best way to attract us.
I said this in another thread, but this is why Fulham and Everton do so well over here with popularity.
Do I take it many of you here are LA Galaxy fans?
I remember Beckham wasn't the fans favourite for a while when he came back from his loan spell.
What makes things different now Landon has taken a similar step?
Will the fans adopt a similar stance, or are the 2 scenarios completely different?
Coincidentally, I think only 2-3 of the regular US posters here are Galaxy fans, the rest of us are all the other teams.
My team is somewhat of a rival of the Galaxy, so I would obviously like to see him leave my competitor.
The Beckham thing, well that was a bunch of different factors. I think quite a few people overreacted to that. The myopia of how important the MLS was as compared to the WC (which is what Beckham was worried about) was surprising. Interesting to see now, with Donovan doing something similar. To Donovan's credit though, he is not appearing to violate the terms of the loan and will return to MLS on opening day - something Beckham
did not do. A lot of Galaxy fans spurned Becks for that, and many still can't seem to get over it. I guess it's hard for you guys to understand since you are one of (if not the) best leagues in the world. If the EPL wasn't one of the best, you might have to deal with players leaving to go elsewhere, and that's an entirely different dynamic. Can you imagine if Pienaar left Everton for a few months to go play in another country to better "prepare" for the WC? Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
Beckham also didn't really make an effort to be a team player... He wasn't really interested in earning that armband, and as thebes said (very good points in this thread btw thebes!), Beckham didn't really earn or ask for as much as he "demanded", even if it was through his agent. In fairness, Beckham is a much bigger player than anyone in the MLS, but i don't think it looks good to waltz in and start expecting that you'd be the big dog without making much effort to win over your teammates.
The bottom line there i think was Beckham walked in knowing he was bigger than everyone, and acted like it. That would put a sour taste in anyone's mouth, really. Yes he's Beckham, but it wouldn't hurt to be human to your teammates.
In Donovan's case, he walked into Everton with a humble attitude and some humility on his sleeve. He accepted his role, wherever it may be, and (from all accounts) has done whatever he can to be a team player. Had Beckham done that, he might have been better received?
I don't hate myself enough to be a Hull fan
As an Altidore fan, i've watched PLENTY of Hull matches, and yes, they are quite painful. Such a horrible squad, really.... the poor midfield there makes Altidore look bad.
and I've disliked Liverpool for a long time as well, so I am in Blue by default?
